The dry van truckload market around Savannah, Georgia, has loosened noticeably while the national market remains tight, according to a FreightWaves market review published November 4, 2026.
Nationally, dry van tender rejection rates have eased over recent months but still sit near 11 percent, a level FreightWaves analyst Zach Strickland described as a sign of a tight market. Spot rates, tracked through the National Truckload Index, have held after a slight pullback from a July 4 peak. Carrier cost increases have outpaced revenue gains, which Strickland said reduces the incentive for new owner-operators to enter the market.
Savannah stood out as an exception. The port complex, described as the second-largest on the East Coast, saw rejection rates fall to nearly 6 percent, close to the second-lowest reading of the year. Spot rates there dropped below contract rates, and roughly 7 percent of lanes showed significant rate declines. Strickland called the gap between Los Angeles and Savannah unusual for this time of year and tied it to port activity concentrated on the West Coast.
Los Angeles is the most pressured dry van market, with 67 percent of rates rising and spot rates about 15 percent above contract rates. The report named Atlanta among several retail-heavy corridors that could feel pressure if West Coast port disruption continues.
The review gave no further Georgia-specific figures beyond Savannah. Reefer rejections have also passed their Labor Day peak, with the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest showing the tightest conditions, and intermodal volumes dipped after the largest transcontinental lane was briefly shut down.
Source: FreightWaves -- https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dry-van-reefer-market-signals-you-cant-ignore